The Picnic
by RDF-J6
Summary: This is a 3 part what if story where Rick decided to go on his picnic with Lisa instead of meeting Minmei.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: ROBOTECH and its associated characters are registered copyrighted trademarks and are the property of HARMONY GOLD USA, Inc. Copyright infringement is for storytelling purposes only and is not intended. Other characters and situations are of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental and is not intended. Story can be downloaded and printed for the reader's enjoyment. The cutting, copying, pasting, quoting, plagiarizing or changing of this story is prohibited. Any publishing of this story in any magazine or fanzine without the author's permission is strictly prohibited.

DEDICATION: To all the ROBOTECH fans who are also hopeless romantics.

BACKGROUND OF THE STORY: This three part story is a "what if" story. I always wondered what would have happened had Rick decided to go on his picnic with Lisa Hayes instead of seeing Minmei. This story is my take on what would have happened and the consequences of that event had it taken place. This story takes place in the timeframe of the Macross Saga episodes "Khyron's Revenge", "Broken Heart", "A Rainy Night" and "Private Time."

NOTE: Some the information for the story were taken from the episodes itself and from the Jack McKinney novel adaptations of the ROBOTECH series.

PERSONAL NOTE: I am the first to admit that I am not a romance writer and never will be. There are authors who are better at this type of fiction than I am. But I hope that I at least did a fair job at this and I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, reviews and criticisms are welcomed. Don't worry about being too critical. I can take it.

THE PICNIC

PART ONE

"He's late. Where is he?" Lisa said to herself as she looked at her watch. Skull Squadron came back from New Detroit hours ago. Usually Rick would be reporting to Lisa at this time to give his reports to her and to receive the next day's duty roster from her. She called the squadron's orderly room. The orderly room sergeant said he left hours ago. Lisa then called his house, the voice mail machine picked up the call. She called the base fitness center, he wasn't there. She even called the one place Rick usually does not go to, the officer's club; the bartender said he isn't there. _There would only be one place he would be at this time of day,_ Lisa said to herself, _and_ _that would be the officer's lounge._ She left her office and walked towards the officer's lounge. There was no one in the lounge so it wasn't difficult to find Rick. She found Rick sitting in the far off corner of the lounge and he had his head down and looked like he wasn't in the mood to talk. Lisa walked up to Rick.

"I could have prevented it from happening, Lisa. It's my fault."

_Oh no, he's beating himself up over what happened in New Detroit and the protoculture chamber. _

"Rick," Lisa said as she was sitting down. "It's not your fault. You had to make an on-the-spot judgment call. I thought you made the right decision. Also Admiral Gloval, Lord Breetai and Exedore said you made the right decision."

"But I shouldn't have caved in to Lynn Kyle and the mayor. If I didn't, the protoculture chamber wouldn't now be in Khyron's hands. I should have stuck to my first decision to deploy a small squadron to guard the chamber."

"And if you didn't cave in, you would have caused a riot and made a bad situation worse. Sometimes you have to make a decision based on the situation you're in. Didn't you learn that at the officer's leadership course?"

"Yes, I did learn that at the leadership course. And I also learn that I have to live with the consequences of my decision, which I don't like."

"Rick," Lisa said as she gently took his hands and put it in hers. "That's all part of being a leader. There will be times when you will have to make a snap decision and later on, you will not like the consequences of your decision. You made a decision and something bad indirectly happened because of your decision. You have to live with the consequences of your decision and go on from there. Otherwise, it will eat you alive."

Rick smiled a little then cocked his head a little at Lisa. "Lisa, why are you always around to listen to me whine and complain about my problems?"

"Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment." Lisa said with a smile. "Or maybe perhaps I'm the only one you know that is willing to listen to your problems."

"Well, whatever the reason is, I'm glad that you do."

"Thank you, Rick." Lisa said quietly.

Lisa and Rick kept looking at each other for a long time until Rick spoke up. "Lisa, I know this is not a good time to say this…but…in the last several years, I've grown to respect you as a person and I cherish you as a valuable friend. But lately I've been…this is not easy for me to say…"

"Take your time, Rick. Take your time." Lisa said patting his hand.

"I now look at you as more just than a friend…what I'm trying to say is…I love you Lisa and will you go out with me on Saturday?" Rick asked very fast.

"What Rick? You said it too fast for me to understand."

Rick took in a deep breath. "I love you and will you go out with me on Saturday? Before you ask, let me answer it. I am over my feelings of love for Minmei. I've been over my feelings of love for Minmei a long time ago. I consider her to be a friend and I hope she thinks the same about me being a friend. But, I am no longer in love with her. I love you and you only. There is no one else. So…will you go out with me on Saturday?"

Lisa was stunned that Rick made this confession to him. She didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry I'd put you on the spot. I left my reports for you back at my office. I'll go get them."

"No Rick. Please don't go just yet." Lisa said as she grabbed his arm as he was about ready to get up and leave. "I have something to tell you. I have to confess to you that when I first met you, I didn't like you. You calling me Old Sourpuss at Saturn's rings made me like you even less."

"I'm sorry about that, Lisa. Really, I am."

"That quite all right, Rick. No need to apologize. But, after you rescued me at Sara Base and later on at Alaska Base, I did some growing up myself. I'm glad that you are my friend and I've grown to respect you too. But lately, you have been more than just a friend to me. I've…I've fallen in love with you too. And to tell you the truth, I've been in love with you for quite some time."

"For how long you've been in love with me, Lisa?"

"Ever since that day you were shot down over the Pacific Ocean."

_Oh my. Gosh, she has been in love with me for that long? And she's just getting around to telling me. Holy cow, this is just too much for me to take in all at once. "_Lisa…why didn't you tell me sooner you're in love with me? Why now?" Rick asked while holding Lisa's hand.

"To tell you the truth, I was scared. I wasn't ready to make a commitment to anyone. When Karl died at Mars Base Sara, I didn't want to make a commitment to anyone, especially to military people because I was afraid they will not make it through the next battle. But after all we've been through, I've grown to love you and cherish you. Also, I thought you were still involved with Minmei. I'm sorry to be telling you this now, but I didn't know if I was ever going to fall in love with anyone again. You've awaken my feelings of love and I want to thank you for that. And yes, I will go out with you on Saturday."

Rick's mouth grew into a big smile as he breathed in and out very deeply as if trying to get his breath back. "I don't know what to say. I've never really done this before because I never really had a serious girlfriend…but…do you mind if I kiss you?"

"Just go ahead and kiss me, Rick. You don't have to ask for my permission." Lisa said softly.

Rick reached over the table to kiss Lisa. Lisa met Rick halfway with her lips partly opened. Their first kiss was very short. Their second kiss was more emotional. They reached over with their hand and put their hand on each others face. After kissing for a while, they stopped. Rick had a smile on his face.

"Wow. I never thought that my first kiss with you will be this wonderful."

Lisa gently laughed at Rick's comment. "Just stick with me Rick and you'll have a lot more."

"Count on it." Rick said as they started kissing again. After a while, they stopped for good. "I guess I should go back to my office and get the reports for you."

"Take your time, Rick."

"Ok. See you in a couple of minutes."

Rick and Lisa kissed again for several seconds and then Rick got up. As Rick was walking away, Lisa stayed seated in the chair and put her fingers to her lips as if wanting to find some way to seal the lingering warmth of his lips on hers. She then wrapped her arms around her shoulders, leaned her head back, closed her eyes and sighed happily. _I can't believe Rick finally told me that he loves me. I never thought I would hear anyone let alone him, tell me that they love me ever again. Yes, I will go out with you on Saturday Rick Hunter. And I'm planning on doing a lot more with you on Saturday night and all day and all night on Sunday._

The next day

Everyone was staring in shock at the video screen. Khryon was holding Minmei and Kyle hostage. Even Exedore couldn't believe it. The Zentraedi's most famous warrior has sunk to becoming a common criminal.

"You're mad!" Admiral Gloval yelled.

"Ah. But there is a method to my madness my dear admiral. Now, listen up. Here are my demands. First, the space fortress for Minmei and the factory satellite for this other hostage." Khyron said with a smile as he pointed his finger to Lynn-Kyle who was dangling from by the suit jacket at the end of the Azonia's fingers.

"Don't do it admiral! Don't listen to them!"

"Mind your manners!" Azonia said playfully as she was roughly wiggling Kyle as if he was a rag doll.

"You're hurting him!" Minmei shouted in a worried voice.

"Of course I would much rather prefer to avoid violence but I will certainly use it if I have to."

"Ok! You win! I'm certain we can arrange something. Just don't harm them!" Admiral Gloval said.

"That's better. Now, I have to leave. But remember that I am expecting an answer from you by 1200 hours tomorrow."

Khyron flashed a V with his fingers and cut off the transmission.

Admiral Gloval breathed in a deep breath and blew it out in frustration.

"What are we going to do, admiral?"

"You're not thinking about giving into his demands, are you?"

"Course not! I'm not going to let this go unpunished. Just let me think for a moment"

Gloval tapped his empty pipe to his lips for several minute then spoke up again.

"You know, we may not know who most of our enemies are but we do know who our friends are. So I suggest we use our Zentraedi friends to trick Kyhron as he used them to trick us."

1 hour later

_Great, Rick has been ordered to save Minmei once again. _Lisa said to herself._ Just as our relationship was getting on track, Minmei has to come along and throw it off again._ Lisa inhaled a deep breath before radioing Rick.

"Macross Control to Maverick Flight, Macross Control to Maverick Flight. Do you read me, over?"

High above the skies of North America, Rick was on patrol with Skull Squadron. He was still in the middle of his patrol period but already was thinking about what he and Lisa will do once they get off duty later in afternoon and the upcoming weekend. They're both getting a rare weekend off and he was looking forward when it's just him and Lisa together by themselves. No uniforms, no duty, no worries. Lisa's voice over the radio broke his train of thought.

"Maverick Flight to Macross Control, I read you, over."

"Commander Hunter, engage your scrambler."

"Roger. I am engaging voice scrambler for encoded transmission, Macross Control."

"Hello Lisa. What a coincidence. I was just thinking about you and what we'll be doing this weekend. So, what's up?"

"Rick, you are ordered by Admiral Gloval to break off patrol and report to Macross to get briefed for a special mission."

"Oh? What's going on? We're flying Maistroff off to a deserted topical island for a vacation so he can go skinny dipping?" Rick said with a grin.

The grin disappeared when Lisa didn't laughed or scolded Rick. _Oh-oh, that's not a good sign._ Rick said to himself.

"What's going on?"

_Go ahead and tell him. He's going to find out anyway._ An inward voice told Lisa. Lisa drew in a deep breath. "Something bad has happened to Minmei, Rick."

"What happened to Minmei?"

Lisa went on to tell Rick about Minmei and Kyle being kidnapped by Khyron and they being held hostage for the SDF-1 and the factory satellite. Rick was chosen to lead the rescue mission.

"He's got to be crazy! He's holding Minmei hostage for the SDF-1? The SDF-1 is nothing but a rusting pile of junk. It's not even space worthy, let alone air worthy."

"You know that and I know that. But Khyron doesn't care! He's wants the SDF-1 and he's holding Minmei and Lynn Kyle hostage until he gets it."

Lisa heard him let out a groan and saw him rubbed his head like he has a headache on her video monitor. _Sounds like he just as frustrated with this situation as I am._ Lisa said to herself in relief.

"And Admiral Gloval wants me to rescue Minmei and Kyle."

"That seems to be the plan, Rick."

"Great!" Rick said in exasperation. He then let out a big sigh. "Roger Macross Control. Skull Squadron's returning to base. I am disengaging voice scrambler."

"Macross Control, out."

"Skull Squadron, break off and follow me. The rest of Maverick Flight, stay on course."

The next day at dawn

At RDF HQ, Rick was briefed on the mission and went through several rehearsals and dry runs. At the airfield as Rick was getting ready to fly the rescue mission, Lisa put her arms around Rick's neck and kissed him. She had a worried look on her face.

"Please be careful Rick. Kyhron will stop at nothing. You know that."

Rick put his hands around Lisa's slender waist and kissed her, trying to reassure her in a calm soothing voice.

"I know. Don't worry Lisa. We got a complete briefing on the mission and we've rehearsed it many times. I know what I'm doing. I'm flying this mission as a pilot."

"And you're a good pilot Rick. It's just…It's just that I don't want you to lose your perspective and objectivity. That's all."

_Oh boy. Here we go again._ Rick said to himself. Rick moved his hands from Lisa's waist and placed it on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Lisa, I'm not going to lie to you. Yes, I loved Minmei. But I've gotten over my feelings for her a long time ago. I'm flying this mission as a pilot. That's all. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"It's not you I'm worried about Rick."

"Look, I'll come back to you. Don't worry. I'm not going to jeopardize this mission and the lives of my pilots over what feelings I may have left for her. I have complete confidence in my men and their abilities. You have to have confidence in me and my ability to be objective and to complete the mission."

"I do have confidence in you Rick. It's just that…"

"What Lisa?"

"Forget it. Good luck, Rick. Be safe. I love you."

"I love you too, Lisa." Rick said as he kissed Lisa on her forehead.

Later that same day

The rescue mission went off without a hitch. But for Lynn Kyle, it wasn't good enough. He was screaming and yelling at Lisa at the airfield after Rick rescued Minmei and Kyle. Minmei was trying to calm Kyle down but with not much success.

"Your little rescue mission almost cost me and Minmei our lives, commander!"

Lisa wasn't backing off. She was holding her ground. "I'm sorry you feel that way Mr. Lynn Kyle. But these missions involve a certain amount of risk, not only for you and your cousin but for the people involved in rescuing you."

"Well thanks for nothing! Did you have to kill the Zentraedis who weren't armed?"

Rick was seething. _Why that ungrateful bastard! How dare he question what we done when risked our lives to save his worthless ass. What did Minmei ever see in that worthless piece of trash, I'll never know. Family relationships are damned._

"That's okay, Lisa. You don't have to defend me. I'm a grown boy. I can take it. I did it as a personal favor for you and you only, Minmei, because you're my friend. I sure as Hell didn't do for you, Kyle."

"I would expect that coming from a warmonger like you, Hunter!"

Rick wanted to say something much stronger to Kyle but held his tongue. Lisa wasn't so kind but she didn't say it out loud and not quite as profane.

_Go screw yourself, Kyle._

Minmei turned and saw Rick. She ran to Rick with tears running down her face. She threw her arms open wide and ran into Rick clutching him and almost tackling him to the ground. Rick had a surprised look on his face. Rick was at a loss for words when he saw the evil look in Lisa's eyes. _Oh-oh, I better break this up quick_. He put his hands around Minmei's arms. He was having a difficult time breaking Minmei's hold on him because she had her arms tightly around his waist.

"Minmei…It's great seeing you again. But…I have to go back on patrol. I'll see you later. Ok?"

"No Rick! Please! Don't go!"

"Minmei please let go of me! I have to leave!"

"No! Please Rick! You don't understand! When I was being held hostage by Khyron, I began to think what was really important to me! And I realized it's not my singing or acting career!"

"Minmei we'll talk about this some other time! But I really do have to go!"

He finally managed to break free of Minmei's hold. As he was walking back to his VT, Lisa walked along side him with an angry look on her face.

"I thought you said you're over your feelings for her." Lisa said after they were out of ear shot of Kyle and Minmei.

"Not now Lisa. We'll talk about this later when I get off patrol."

"No! We're going to talk about this right now!"

"I said not now! We're still on duty!"

Rick climbed back into the cockpit of his VT. Rick closed the canopy and fired up the engines. As he began to taxi away, Minmei began chasing after him.

"No Minmei! You'll be hurt by the jet blast!" Lisa yelled.

"She's still in love with him!" Kyle seethed.

Rick's VT rocketed down the runway and several seconds later, was airborne. Minmei fell to her knees and cried. Even though she didn't wanted to, Lisa picked Minmei up from the runway asphalt and walked her to a waiting limo.

Several hours later

It was getting to be dusk when Rick taxied his VT into a hangar bay. He was tired.

"Oh boy, I'm beat. I can't wait to get home."

Rick then looked over to his right and saw Lisa standing by the tarmac. She had her wrists to her waist and was tapping her right footed uniform shoe angrily. He winced and groaned.

"Oh great! But I have to go through Hurricane Lisa first." Rick said wearily as he climbed down from the cockpit.

"I thought you said you're over your feelings for her!" Lisa said as she was walking with Rick step to step.

"I am!"

"Then why you didn't stop her from trying to tackle you like you're a quarterback at a back yard pick-up football game!"

Rick stopped, turned and looked at Lisa. "What was I suppose to do Lisa! Hold my hands out to stop her and say to her 'That's ok Minmei. But you shouldn't do that because Lisa, my girlfriend is standing nearby. A handshake would do.'?"

"Yes if you really love me!"

"I'm not going to do that Lisa just because you were standing nearby! It was just her way of saying thank you to me. Just because I no longer have feelings of love for Minmei, doesn't mean I will stop being friends with her! It's not like I was getting aroused by having her arms around me. It's you that I love. You know that!"

"Well, I'm beginning to wonder if you really do love me!"

Rick was getting frustrated. He suddenly threw up his hands and rolled his eyes up at the sky.

"I give up! Look! I keep telling you and telling you that I am over my feelings of love for Minmei! But you don't believe me! If you want go on doubting me and my love for you, fine! Go right ahead because I don't care anymore! I'm tried! I'm going to take a shower and go home! What you want to do tonight and this weekend, go ahead and do it without me! I don't care!"

Rick left the tarmac heading for the squadron's locker room and the shower steaming mad. Lisa stayed where they were arguing with tears streaming down her cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2

THE PICNIC

PART TWO

Even though the skies were threatening, Lisa left her car at work and decided to take the bus and then walk home instead of drive. She needed the time to think and she can't do it while keeping her eyes on the road and trying to concentrate on the traffic at the same time. Fortunately, it wasn't too long of a walk from the bus stop and Lisa is still young and being in the military, she stays in shape. She was walking in the Turkey Run Hill subdivision of one of Macross City's outer suburb's. Many of the SDF-1 and RDF senior officers including her, Rick and Claudia live in Turkey Run Hill. She was about halfway to her house when it started raining. It wasn't a real heavy rain at first. But it was enough to make Lisa regret leaving her raincoat back at the office. As she was coming up on Claudia's house, the sky really opened up, drenching her and chilling her to the bone. Looks like it going to be a long hard winter.

"Great! The Aerographer's Mates said it was going to rain today. It serves me right to leave my umbrella at home."

She decided to stop at Claudia's house instead of trying to make it to her home in the driving rain.

"Good, the light's on inside. That means she should be home." Lisa said to herself.

Lisa ran up to the porch, began banging on the door and pressing the doorbell button. Less than a minute later, the porch light came on and Claudia opened the door. She was surprised to see a wet Lisa Hayes standing on her porch.

"Lisa! What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're walking home."

"I am Claudia." Lisa said rather sheepishly and with an embarrass smile on her face.

"Well, come in out of the cold rain so you can dry yourself off and get warm."

"Thanks Claudia."

"I'm in the middle making dinner but I haven't started yet. How do chicken fettuccine and a salad sound to you?"

"Sounds great, Claudia. I'm starved."

After getting a towel to let Lisa dry her wet hair, Claudia put the teapot on the stove to get the water boiling.

"I'm putting the teapot on the stove so you can have some hot tea to warm you up."

Lisa was in the living room drying off her wet hair. Hot tea sounds nice but the chill she was feeling was more close to her heart. Even though she was never much of a drinker of anything containing alcohol, at this moment in time, Lisa really didn't cared.

"Not to sound like I'm being a pushy guest Claudia, but do you have anything stronger than tea lying around your house?" Lisa asked as she was taking off her wet uniform jacket and following Claudia into the kitchen.

"Like what?"

"Like a bottle of wine perhaps?"

Claudia thought for a moment. "Since we're having chicken, I think I have a bottle of white wine lying around here somewhere. Let me look around."

Claudia looked around her cupboards and kitchen cabinets for a moment. "Ah! Here it is success!" Claudia said in triumph as she turned and smiled at Lisa.

Claudia then went over to the cupboard to get two wine glasses. Claudia then searched through her kitchen drawers for a corkscrew. Then poured two glasses then raised her glass.

"What should we toast to?"

Lisa thought for a moment and raised her glass. "Since it's getting close to Thanksgiving, how about we toast to a good Thanksgiving."

Claudia thought about it for a moment. "It sounds good to me. Here's to a good Thanksgiving."

Very soon the pair was at Claudia's kitchen table eating their dinner. After they finished eating, Lisa helped Claudia clean off the table and washed the dishes, flatware, pots and pans. After drying the dishes and putting everything away in the kitchen cabinets, Claudia and Lisa sat on the couch in Claudia's living room with their glasses of wine.

"Now, tell me what Rick has done this time that made you go walking home moping in the rain. Come on. Spill it. Tell big sister Claudia everything. So that the next time I see Rick, I can strangle him."

Lisa laughed an embarrassing laugh. She then slightly bowed her head with a look of embarrassment on her face. "Actually Claudia, it's more my fault than Rick's."

"Oh? Still, tell me everything."

Lisa then went on to tell Claudia what happened at the airfield before and after the rescue mission and after Rick had gotten off patrol duty for the day. Claudia nodded her head knowingly and gave Lisa a sympathetic look. "Ah yes the old green eyed monster. Let me tell you something, sister. You're not the first woman to get jealous when you think some female is trying to horn in on your boyfriend. And you won't be the last."

"I know Claudia. I know Rick cares about me and loves me. But still…I can't help but to think that he still have feelings of love for Minmei."

"Didn't he tell you that he had gotten over his feelings of love for Minmei a long time ago?"

"Yes he did. And I believe him. Well...at least I want to believe him."

"Then why don't you believe him?"

"I don't know Claudia. There is just something in the back of my mind that is telling me he's still in love with Minmei."

Fed up with Lisa's indecisiveness, Claudia looked up at the ceiling and let out a playful yell of exasperation. She then looked over at Lisa with a comical berserk look on her face, exaggerated her breathing, slowly clawing her fingers and started inching towards Lisa as if she wants to strangle her. Lisa started backing up, holding her arms out and laughing at the same time. "I'm sorry Claudia. But I can't help but think that Rick still has feelings of love for Minmei."

Claudia then stopped as if she thought better of strangling Lisa. She then looked over at a framed picture of Roy Fokker and picked it up. "I can tell you stories about Roy and I that will make what you're going through with Rick look pale in comparison. Want to hear some of them?"

Lisa looked out at the picture window. It was still raining hard. "Looks like I'm not going anywhere for a while. Let's hear it."

Claudia began telling Lisa about when she and Roy first met in Wyoming in the early stages of the Global Civil War. She was a naïve young enlisted person fresh out of service school. She was barely out of her teens and not even a half a year removed from leaving her loving family and her comfortable Boston, Massachusetts home to enlist in the service. He was a young fighter jock, brash, cocky and full of self confidence and himself. He had already flown several missions and had several kills. He knew the rules about fraternizing with enlisted personnel. But he didn't care. He bore his sights on Claudia. While he was chasing Claudia, he was chasing other women, trying to make Claudia jealous. And he was succeeding. It wasn't until she really had gotten to know Roy that she found that he was trying to hide his fear of death behind the mask of being a womanizer.

That was one part of Roy Lisa never knew. Roy was very good at hiding behind a mask. She was very surprised that Claudia told her that. When she met Claudia at Macross Island, Claudia and Roy was already an item. She always thought that Claudia and Roy were in love with other. "Claudia, you never told me that. I always thought that you and Roy had hit it off from the beginning. Unlike Rick and I…because…well…we started off as enemies and we were at each others throats all the time."

"The same thing happened with Roy and me, Lisa. We never had gotten along with each other when we first met. As a matter of fact, there were many times when we fought like cats and dogs. Let me tell you something else. You may think you have all the time in the world to work on your romantic relationship. When the truth is, you don't. Before he died, Roy and I thought we had plenty of time. That was the reason why Roy never bothered to ask me to marry him. Even though we both knew that he could be killed at anytime being a fighter pilot. Then after Roy was killed, this" Claudia said as she was holding up her glass of wine, "has become a necessary crutch for me. It's the only way I know how to deal with the pain. Now…nothing seems to matter much anymore."

Lisa was surprised that Claudia made that confession to her. Claudia always maintained the façade of the happy go lucky girl even after Roy was killed. Sure, she was in mourning for while after Roy died. But she never showed any outward signs of emotions of grief to anyone of how seriously Roy's death affected her. Even to those closest to her. About the only one who really grieved Roy's death was understandably, Rick. But never Claudia, that is until now.

"You can't let jealousy get in the way of your happiness. You have to have enough faith in Rick to believe him when he tells you that he is over his feelings of love for Minmei, he's telling you the truth. It's okay to have doubts sometimes, but you can't let those doubts always cloud your better judgment and your love for Rick. If you continue to have doubts, you're going to drive Rick away before you know it. You need to hold on to each other as long as you can because it's not going to last forever. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? Is it finally sinking into that thick skull of yours?"

Lisa nodded her head as she was seeing the logic of what Claudia was saying to her.

"Now you need to tell Rick about your feelings about Minmei. I mean everything. Get it out in the open, once and for all. If he tells you that he is over his feelings of love towards Minmei, then that's it. You should believe him. It should be water under the bridge from then on. You are never to bring that up ever again, even if you do it in a fit of anger. Because if you ever do, one day Rick's going to have enough of it and you're going drive Rick away forever. And you will have no one to blame but yourself."

"You're right Claudia."

Unbeknownst to Claudia and Lisa, Rick was at his home, going over the day's events in his head. He began to look at the photo album of the pictures Lisa gave to him one day. The first picture he looked at was the one with a kitten on top of Lisa's head, too cute. Rick then looked at the picture where she was in a read coat and was wearing a matching red beret on her head. She put her hand behind her head and struck a pose like a model. _She's very photogenic. She looks great in front of the camera. Shame she didn't became a fashion model. I bet she even looks great in a bikini. She does have the body for it. I should ask her if she has a picture of herself in a bikini._ Rick said to himself. Then he looked at the funny picture of Lisa in the same coat and beret, winkling her nose and sticking out her tongue at the camera. He never knew Lisa had a wacky sense of humor. He loves Lisa with all his heart but he can't help but feeling like he's always butting his head against a wall. It was almost like he was fighting a losing battle in trying to convince Lisa that he loves her and her only.

"I shouldn't have been too hard on Lisa. But still, she should have believed me when I told her that my romantic feelings for Minmei have long since disappeared. Why can't she believe me?"

"Still, I shouldn't have yelled at Lisa. She does love me and I love her. I should call her and apologize for getting angry at her."

Rick first called Lisa's houses but received her voice mail. He then called the base.

"RDF headquarters, Staff Duty Officer, Army 2LT Simms. This is an unsecured line. May I help you, sir or ma'am?"

"This is Captain Hunter, Lieutenant Simms. Is Captain Hayes still in her office?"

"No sir. She left hours ago. May I leave a message for her?"

"No, I think I know where she is. Thanks for your help anyway lieutenant."

"You're welcome sir. Good night."

He then called Claudia's house.

"I've done a lot of things in my life that I later regretted. One of them was not trying to persuade Roy into getting him to ask me to marry him. And now, my chance for happiness is gone forever. You're lucky, Lisa. Your boyfriend is still alive, which means, you have another chance to get it right with Rick. But you don't have many left. Don't screw it up."

Claudia's phone rang. The telephone was on a lamp table that was adjacent to the couch. Claudia leaned over and answered the phone.

"Hello, Commander Grant's residence. Oh hi, Rick. How're you doing? Yes, she's here with me. No, we're not doing anything right now. We ate dinner a while ago and we're sitting on the couch talking. No, nothing important, we've been talking about you, that all we're doing. No, nothing bad about you, trust me Rick. Rick, have I ever lied to you? No, she walked over here from the base. Well, what can you say? That's our Lisa for you. Oh really? You did? You are? Ok, do you want to speak to her? She's sitting next to me. No? All right then. Sure, I'll tell her you're coming over here to pick her up. I'll make sure she's ready to walk out the door the minute you arrive. You're welcome, Rick. See you in a couple of minutes. You drive safely Rick. It's still raining very hard outside. You too, Rick. See you in a minute or a two. Bye."

"Well, speaking of the devil."

"Rick's coming over here?"

"Yes he is. He called your house first. Your voice mail answered. He then called the base. The SDO said you left hours ago. Then he called here. He leaving his house right now and is driving over here to take you home."

"I don't believe it."

"Maybe it will be a good time to tell Rick about your feelings about him and Minmei once and for all."

"You're right Claudia. Get it out in the open and settle it once and for all."

"That's my girl."

Several minutes later, Rick was outside in his sports car on Claudia's driveway and honking the horn.

"Rick's outside. You better put your shoes on and put on your uniform jacket."

After Lisa put on her shoes and her uniform jacket, she was outside on the porch looking at her best friend with gratitude in her eyes and gave her a hug.

"Thanks for everything Claudia, for the dinner and the listening ear."

"You're welcome Lisa. Now, get out of here. I want to share a drink with Roy before I check my e-mail and turn in for the night."

"I'm going! I'm going!"

"Tell Rick I said hello."

"I will Claudia. See you tomorrow at work. Bye" Lisa said as she ran to Rick's car and waved. Claudia waved back.

"Roy, let's hope it works out between the two of them. I don't think I can take much more of this." Claudia muttered as she closed the door and turned off the porch light.

"Hi Rick." Lisa said as she entered Rick's car and closed the door.

"Hi babe" Rick answered with a kiss. "Do you want me to drive to your place or mine?"

_Well, that's a good start._ Lisa said to herself as she returned Rick's kiss. "My place, I like to get out of my uniform and into drier clothes."

Rick and Lisa talked a little small talk because it wasn't far from Claudia's house to Lisa's house. Rick decided to let Lisa know of his feelings of love for her and the feelings he still has for Minmei when they get to her house.

After Lisa opened the door and turned on the house lights. Rick dressed in a white tee shirt, his black leather flight jacket and blue jeans, suddenly closed the door, grabbed Lisa by her arm, turned her around and gave her a deep, passionate kiss. Lisa just melted in his arms and let Rick have his way with her. Rick has always been a good kisser and he knew just how to press Lisa's buttons just right. Lisa put her arms around Rick's neck while Rick slowly worked his hands up and down Lisa's sides of her body, sending jolts of erotic electricity through Lisa making her groan with passion. They continued kissing for what seemed to be minutes. Rick stopped and looked at Lisa with love in his eyes, bringing tears to Lisa's eyes.

"Lisa," Rick said quietly and with love in his voice. "I love you and you only. There's no Minmei. There's no one else, there's only you."

"I know Rick. I know you love me and I love you. It's just that I get so jealous when ever Minmei's around you. I get so angry and fearful that she's trying to take you away from me. You heard what she said to you today at the airfield after you rescued her and Kyle. I'm sorry I yelled at you today."

"Hey babe, I should apologize to you. There's nothing wrong with being jealous. Being jealous just means that you love me. But you should have enough faith in me to believe me when I say to you that I love you and you only. And that my feelings of love for Minmei have long since passed. Yes, I heard what Minmei said to me today at the airfield. She may have said it because of the stress she was under being held hostage by Khyron. I don't know because I'm not a psychologist. What I do know is that it didn't affect me one bit. It did not change my love for you. She may have feelings of love for me now but I don't feel the same way about her now. Do you believe me?"

Lisa nodded her head. "I do believe you and I love you. Are we still on for this weekend?"

Rick thought for a moment. "Yes, if the weather clears up by tomorrow. How about we have a picnic? There's a small forest in a park between here and Monument City that I discovered while on patrol one day. How about we go there?"

"A picnic, wouldn't it be too cool for a picnic?"

"Hey, who says the weather has to be warm in order to have a picnic? We just wear warm clothes and sweaters. There is still autumn color on the trees. Hardly anyone will be there because the weather's no longer warm. What do you say?"

"Ok. It's a date. I'll make the lunch."

"It's a deal."

"So, lover boy, are you going to stay the night with me or are you going back to your home?" Lisa asked with her arms around Rick's neck.

"I'm going home. Unlike you I haven't eaten. What are you doing for the rest of the night?"

"Nothing much, I going to get out of my damp uniform, take a shower, check my e-mail, watch a little TV, read a book and go to bed."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, babe. You want me to stop by tomorrow morning to take you to work?"

"If you don't mind doing it, sweetie I would certainly appreciate it. Would you lock the door when you go out?"

"I sure will."

"Thanks sweetie. Good night lover." Lisa said softly as she kissed Rick.

"Good night babe." Rick said just as softly.

Lisa then turned to walk into her bedroom so she can take off her damp uniform and take a shower. As Lisa was walking away, an evil thought came into Rick's brain. Then he slowly smiled a sick twisted grin. He was going to get his little measure of revenge on Lisa. After first making sure that he can hear the water running from the shower in the bathroom, Rick quickly but quietly ran into the kitchen. He searched through the cabinets and cupboards until he found the biggest bowl Lisa has. He turned on the cold water on the faucet tap and waited until the water has gotten as cold as it can get. He then filled the bowl almost full of cold water. Slowly and being careful not to slosh water on Lisa's floor or carpet, Rick slowly walked to the bathroom. Rick then slowly opened the door to the bathroom and crept to the shower. Seeing Lisa's beautiful naked shadow in the shower curtain, Rick raised the bowl above his head and dumped the cold water right on top of Lisa. Lisa jumped and gasped and let a screaming yell of shock, instantly realizing what had just happened.

"Rick Hunter! I'm going to kill you!"

"Good night Lisa! See you tomorrow morning!" Rick quickly said as he dropped the bowl and running as fast as he can to his car.


	3. Chapter 3

THE PICNIC

PART THREE

Saturday arrived but it didn't arrive fast enough for Rick and Lisa. They were looking forward to the day. It would be just the two of them, enjoying a picnic lunch. The meteorologist on TV said that the weather was to be cool but sunny and best of all, no wind, which was perfect. No one would bother them. No uniforms, no duty, no alerts, no worries or problems.

Lisa at her house was humming a happy tune to herself, finishing the sandwiches she made for herself and Rick. She can't wait for Rick to pick her up at her house and take her to the park and enjoy the day. She was looking forward more to the evening when she has something more intimate planned for her and Rick. Since it's Saturday and they don't have to report back to work until Monday, Lisa planned for Rick to spend the whole weekend with her. Rick can be a workaholic at times but at least he knows when to take a time out from his job.

Rick at his house, was in the bathroom. He was shaving after taking a shower and brushing his teeth. He was almost finished shaving when the phone rang. Assuming it was Lisa, he answered the phone.

"I'm almost ready. I'll be there…"

"Hi Rick. It's me."

Uncertain who it was on the other end, Rick stared at the telephone.

"It's me Rick. It's Minmei."

"Oh. Hi Minmei."

"Rick, I'm sorry that wasn't able to call you yesterday. But I want to thank you for saving Kyle and myself. And I want to apologize for Kyle's behavior at the airfield."

"Oh, there's no need to apologize Minmei. I was happy to help save you. You're very important to everyone. You know that."

"Yes, I know that Rick. Rick, I really need to talk to you. It's Saturday. Are you free today?"

"No, I'm not Minmei. I have a…prior commitment for today."

"Well, how about tomorrow?"

Rick wasn't certain if Lisa has anything planned for them for Sunday, but was almost sure she does. "No, I'm afraid I'm tied up tomorrow also. How about calling me sometime next week? I'm sure I can find some free time to see you then. Just call the squadron's orderly room and leave a message. You don't have to tell them your name. Just tell the orderly room sergeant that a friend has called. I know it's you went they give me the message."

Rick can hear the disappointment in Minmei's voice. "Well, ok. I'm performing today at Monument City. If you have some free time today, will you at least stop by the concert hall and wave to me?"

"I'll try. But, I can't promise you I'll be there."

"Ok then. Talk to you later, Rick. Bye."

"Good bye Minmei. Talk to you later."

After he hung up the phone, he drew in a deep breath and then blew it out. "Whew. That was a close one. Better not tell Lisa that Minmei called. She'll flip if I tell her that."

He then went back into the bathroom and finished shaving. He then went into his bedroom and put on his clothes before heading over to Lisa's house.

When he arrived at Lisa's house, he parked his car in the driveway and went up to the porch. He has an extra key that Lisa gave him. He turned the key but still knocked as he entered in.

"Lisa, it's me."

"Hi Rick. I'm almost done putting our lunch together. I should be ready in a minute or two."

"That's ok. Take your time. Do you want me to carry anything?"

"Yes, there's a blanket and two small pillows on the couch. Do you mind carrying them for me?"

"Sure. No problem."

Less than two minutes later, Lisa walked into the living room carrying a wooden picnic basket in her right arm. Rick took one look at Lisa. She was wearing a tan skirt and a matching jacket, and a magenta dress shirt. The shirt complimented her brown hair and green eyes. _Wow. She looks gorgeous even dressed casually._ Rick said to himself.

"Lisa babe, you look absolutely stunning, even dressed casually. You should have been a fashion model."

Lisa blushed at the compliment but quickly recovered. "You like what you see?" Lisa asked as she turned around like she was a runway model.

"Yes."

"Well, you don't look bad yourself handsome." Lisa admiring Rick dressed in a blue suit, purple shirt and a red tie. "And you're wearing my favorite cologne."

"And you're wearing my favorite perfume." Rick said as he drew in a deep breath of Lisa's perfume near her neck. The aroma of the perfume made Rick playfully nibble at Lisa's neck like he was Dracula. Lisa giggled as she pulled Rick away from her neck.

"Okay. Stop it. Stop it Rick. Down boy! Down! We have plenty time left in the day for that."

Rick feigned disappointment when Lisa playfully scolded him. "Oh, all right. I'll stop for now." Rick said as they were heading out the door.

After Lisa locked the door, Rick opened the passenger side door to let Lisa in. He then went over to the driver's side, closed the door and turned the ignition.

"What's in the picnic basket, Lisa?"

"Roast beef sandwiches with light cream cheese, honey Dijon mustard, Roma tomatoes, and curly green lettuce. Small batch fried potato chips, carrot sticks, seedless grapes and apples and home made peach sweetened iced tea to wash everything down with."

"Sounds yummy, I can't wait to eat it."

It had taken about an hour for Rick and Lisa to arrive at the park and the nearby forest. Rick found a spot in the sun near the edge of the forest and laid out the blanket and pillows. He help Lisa sit down on the blanket and he sat down. Lisa opened the basket and gave a sandwich to Rick. Rick took a bite and enjoyed what he's eating.

"This is great Lisa. Maybe we should have picnics more often."

"I'm glad you like my sandwiches Rick."

After they finished eating their lunch, Rick laid his head on Lisa's lap and looked up lovingly into Lisa's beautiful green eyes while Lisa playfully ran her fingers through Rick's hair.

"You're are so beautiful, Lisa. I love you. More than you'll ever know. I'm so glad you came into my life. I can never imagine living my life without you."

Lisa looked back with pure love into Rick's blue eyes. After all the turmoil they went through. The war, the almost complete destruction of Earth by Dolza, the deaths of Roy, Ben, Lisa's father and too many others to count, Rick saving Lisa twice and her saving Rick twice and the unlikely way they first met, Lisa never gets tired of hearing Rick say those words to her. She never thought she would hear anyone say those words to her again after Karl Riber's transfer and subsequent death at Mars Base Sara. She's thankful that God and or, fate brought them together. And nothing will tear them away from that. Lisa bent over to give Rick a kiss. Rick met her halfway to help her out. Rick then sat up and wrapped his arms around Lisa's waist. Rick then laid Lisa slowly down on the blanket never breaking his kiss to Lisa's lips. Lisa never wanted the moment to end, but she thought of something and suddenly broke off the kiss.

"Wait a minute, Rick. What if someone sees us?"

Rick thought about it for a moment and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry about it, Lisa. If anyone comes by and sees us, we'll make sure we give them a good show." Then he returned to kissing Lisa.

Lisa laughed when Rick said that and wrapped her arms around Rick's neck as they continued kissing. As Rick was lightly touching Lisa's sides with his fingertips, he brushed his fingers against Lisa's ribs. Lisa jumped as Rick inadvertently touched one of her ticklish spots.

"What wrong?"

"Nothing Rick, you just touched one of my ticklish spots."

"Oh? Really?" Rick said with an evil grin.

"Rick don't you even dare!" Lisa warned with a laugh and a wide look in her eyes.

Rick didn't listen. He immediately went back to Lisa's ticklish spot on the side of her ribs. Lisa laughed as she put her arms to her ribs and at the same time, trying to get out from underneath Rick. Rick was holding her down tightly like a wrestler pinning their opponent, but she managed to wiggle her way out from underneath Rick's hold on her. She got up on her feet and began to run, laughing at Rick and daring him to try and catch her. Rick began to chase after her.

As Rick and Lisa were enjoying each other, Minmei was riding by the park in a limousine on her way to Monument City. Minmei noticed Rick's black sports car.

"Jimmy! Wait! Stop the car!"

"Yes Miss Minmei."

"Turn the car around!"

"But Miss Minmei, we're on the highway. I can't turn the limo around in the middle of the highway."

"Fine. Just go up to the next exit and you can go back. I noticed a car that belongs to a friend of mine."

"Captain Rick Hunter?"

"Yes. I just want to say hi to him."

"Very well Miss Minmei."

The chauffeur went up to the next exit and soon the limo was heading back to the park. When they reached the park, Jimmy stopped the limo and got out to help Minmei out of the limo. As Minemi was running up to say hello to Rick, she noticed Rick and Lisa running around chasing each other. She just found out what Rick's "prior commitment" was. Not wanting to be noticed by them, she spied a small storage building nearby and hid along a wall. As she was watching the fun Rick and Lisa were having with each other, she began to cry. She only stayed for several seconds until she couldn't stand to watch it anymore. She ran back to the waiting limo.

"Miss Minmei, that was quick. Were you able to…?"

"Drive, Jimmy! Just drive! Continue on to Monument City without stopping!"

"Yes Miss Minmei."

"Jimmy, I need to be alone for a minute. Can you roll up the partition please?"

"Yes Miss Minmei."

After Jimmy rolled up the partition separating him and Minmei, Minmei's tears began to fall bitterly from her eyes as she pounded the seat cushion with her fist. "What have I done! What have I done! I'm such a fool! I only thought about my career and not Rick. Now I've lost Rick to Lisa Hayes forever!"

Not knowing that Minmei was nearby, Rick was still chasing Lisa around until her finally caught her. He wrapped his arms around Lisa's waist as he lay on top of her. They were both out of breath.

"Are there any more ticklish spots on you?"

"Well, you'll just have to find them out for yourself, flyboy."

Rick and Lisa went back to kissing.

"Tell me again how beautiful I am." Lisa said softly with love in her voice.

"You're so beautiful, Lisa."

Lisa cried when Rick said that. He became concerned when he saw the tears. "Hey, what's wrong? Don't you believe me?" Rick asked softly.

"I do, Rick. It's just I would never think I would ever hear anyone say those words to me again. Much less 'I love you'. After Karl transferred to Sara Base and was killed, I thought I was going to be alone forever. My parents tried to set me up on dates, but none of them worked out. I thought I was going to live the rest of my life alone. That is, until you came into my life."

"Lisa…I will never ever get tired of saying those words to you. I will never grow tired of saying 'I love you' and 'you're beautiful', because you are beautiful and I do love you. With my dying breath, I will still say those words to you, along with your name, because your name is the sweetest name on Earth." Rick said softly and with love.

Lisa's heart fluttered when Rick said those words to her. "Oh Rick. I never thought I would fall in love with anyone ever again. You were there all the time but I never realized it. I love you so much." Lisa said as she threw her arms around Rick's neck.

"I love you too, Lisa with all my heart." Rick softly said before returning to kissing Lisa.

After spending several minutes on the ground, kissing Rick and Lisa walked back to the blanket holding hands. As they were enjoying each other, a puppy was walking up to them.

"Oh, look at the puppy Rick. It looks lost."

Rick noticed the puppy and began clapping his hands. "Come here boy. Come here. Let's see if you belong to someone." The puppy ran up to Rick.

"Do you see a collar or a tag on him, Rick?"

"No. It looks like he's an orphan."

"And he looks like he's hungry too." Lisa said as she reached into her picnic basket to get an uneaten sandwich. The puppy ate the sandwich like it was first food he had in weeks.

"I'll say he's hungry Lisa. Looks like I'm not the only one who likes yours cooking."

Lisa smiled. They played with the puppy for the rest of the afternoon. The sun was still out but it was beginning to go behind the tree line. They decided it was time to leave even though they were still having fun.

"What should we do with the puppy Rick? We can't leave it here. It's going to get chilly once the sun goes down. He can't survive without its mother."

"You do have a point, Lisa. I say let's take the puppy back with us to Macross City and drop it off at the animal shelter. I'm sure they can find a good home for the little fellow."

Lisa had pets since she was a little girl and was growing attached to the puppy, was disappointed that Rick said to leave the puppy at the animal shelter. But she agreed it was the best thing to do. "I guess you're right Rick."

"In that case then, we should pack up and start driving back to Macross City before the animal shelter closes. You hold the puppy while I fold up the blanket and gather the pillows and the basket."

"Ok."

Rick folded up the blanket, gathered the pillows and basket and put it in his arms. Lisa took the keys to Rick's car and used the remote control to unlock the car. After dropping the puppy off at the animal shelter, they drove back to Lisa's house. It was almost sundown when they arrived at Lisa's house. After getting the picnic basket, blanket and pillows out of the car, Lisa unlocked the door and they went in.

"What's for dinner, Lisa?" Rick asked as he closed the door.

"How would you like this for an appetizer?" Lisa said seductively as she wrapped her arms around Rick's neck and began kissing him.

"Yummy." Rick said as they broke off their kiss.

"And you know what the best part is?"

"What is it?"

"No calories." Lisa whispered in a sexy voice.

"I like that." Rick said as they started kissing again. After a while Lisa broke off their kiss.

"Getting hungry?" Lisa asked as she was staring into Rick's eyes with love.

"Yes, I am."

"Good because I'm getting hungry myself. How about we go out to eat?"

"It sounds good to me."

"So, what's your pleasure, Italian, Chinese, French food?"

"How about we try out that new Thai place near the base?"

"Sounds good, I haven't eaten Thai food in a while. Let's go."

It was very late in the evening when Lisa and Rick arrived at Lisa's house. They walked to the porch hand in hand. Lisa unlocked the door and Rick followed, closing the door behind him. Lisa turned around and planted a passionate kiss that threw Rick off guard.

"Now, it's time for your dessert Rick Hunter." Lisa said in a seductive voice as she put her arms around Rick's neck. Lisa's and Rick's lips met and locked in a passionate kiss. Rick slowly removed Lisa's jacket and started to move his hands slowly up and down Lisa's arms, sending shivers of pleasure up and down Lisa's spine. Then Rick moved to Lisa's neck He can still smell the rose scented perfume of the soap she used when she showered in the morning and the faint sweet flowerily fragrance of Lisa's perfume even though it was hours ago since Lisa first put it on. The sweet smelling sensations seemed to hypnotize Rick, kicking his desires into overdrive.

He kissed the side of her neck near her collar bone, which was one of her erotic zone. Lisa felt her knees beginning to buckle and started to feel weak when Rick kissed her zone. "Oh Rick…" Lisa whispered. It was a good thing that Lisa's arms were around Rick's neck and Rick had his hands around Lisa's waist supporting her or else she would fell to the floor in the throes of her passion. Rick then swept Lisa off her feet and into his arms as he carried her into her bedroom. Lisa tugged and pulled at her shoes with her feet. When it was loose, she flicked off her shoes and let it land anywhere. _I have plenty of time to pick them up later. I have more important things to do right now._ Lisa said to herself as she looked at Rick with love in her eyes.

When he reached the bed, Rick laid Lisa gently down on the bed, while he sat the edge of the bed. Rick kept kissing Lisa while slowly moving his hands up and down her arms, sending shivers of delight up and down Lisa's spine and making her moan in pleasure. Rick then playfully nibbled and tugged at Lisa's earlobe. The sounds of Rick's excited breathing in her ear, along with Rick nibbling her ear, made Lisa close her eyes and drop her head back as her passion began to rise. Then he kissed Lisa's erotic spot on the side of her neck, driving Lisa's passionate desires even higher. He then slowly moved his hands to Lisa's shirt and started slowly to unbutton it. Fully unbuttoned but not free of her shirt because Lisa tucked it into her skirt, Rick let his hands slowly roam Lisa's bare areas on her back and chest that wasn't covered by her bra. He let his hands feel her soft skin while at the same time softly kissing her lips. Lisa began to moan in erotic delight as Rick slowly began to massage and play with her breasts through the fabric of her bra with his hands and mouth.

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Lisa started by helping Rick takes off his suit jacket. She slowly and playfully removed Rick's red tie. She slid the tie off Rick's neck from the front. Free of the tie, Lisa slowly began to unbutton Rick's shirt. With the front of his shirt unbuttoned, Lisa let her slender hands roam Rick's bare chest and back while seductively kissing the front of his neck and face. Letting the shirt fall down but still on his body because he had the tail tucked into his pants, Rick let Lisa kiss his bare chest. The slow and sexy way she was kissing his chest, drove Rick into a frenzy of lust.

Despite having to fly all the time, Rick always find time to work out, lift weights, ride his bicycle, play sports and run, so Rick always in great physical condition. Many of the women on base see Rick all the time, either on the flight line, at the gym, the commissary, the officer's mess or club or at the PX. Lisa knows that many of those same women wish Rick was their boyfriend. _Sorry girls, he's taken. He's mine. All mine._ Lisa said to herself as if to warn off an unseen interloper.

Laying with Lisa on her bed and both still partly dressed, Rick stopped their kissing but only for a moment to look lovingly into her face. "You're a thief, Lisa Hayes. You know that."

"Oh? In what way am I a thief?"

"You stole my heart and made it your own."

"Well, I can give it back to you if you want. But it will cost you."

"You can keep it. My heart belongs to you forever."

Lisa didn't say anything but she can feel her heart quicken when Rick said those words to her. _Oh Rick, you can't imagine how alive you make me feel when you say those words to me. I can't believe you're mine._ She then wrapped her arms around Rick's and hugged him. She then drew him down to her lips and kissed him. After kissing for what seemed to be a long time, Rick broke off their kiss and spoke up. "Do you want go beyond the stars and into the heavens?" Rick said quietly.

"Take me there, Rick. You're my pilot." Lisa whispered in a low sexy voice.

Meanwhile at the same time

In the dressing room of the Monument City Amphitheatre, Minmei was finishing putting on her makeup and lipstick. Kyle opened the door angrily and stormed into the dressing room.

"You're late! Where the Hell have you been?"

"Sorry." Minmei said absentmindedly, not telling Kyle that she stopped at a bar just inside Monument City. She drank so much, that Minmei's chauffeur, Jimmy was afraid that she would be too drunk to sing. He made the bartender give Minmei black coffee to try to sober her up. It had taken over 5 cups of coffee to at least sober her up a bit. Along the way to the amphitheatre, he had to stop the limo several times so Minmei can throw up along the side of the road. She's going to have one terrible hangover in the morning.

"Just finish getting dressed and get out on stage!" Kyle growled.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of Monument City. Congratulations on your autonomy from the central government. Tonight, in celebration of that event, we have a special treat in store. Minmei has graciously agreed to come and sing for you. Let's all hang our hopes for a bright future on her songs. And so, let's have a warm welcome for a great talent…Lynn Minmei!

The small audience filled with humans, micronized Zentraedi and Zentraedi giants, began clapping as the orchestra struck up the opening chords of "Stage Fright". The curtain opened and Minmei was standing in the center of stage with her head bowed and the microphone dangling down loosely in her hand. The orchestra kept on playing waiting for Minmei to start singing. Kyle, standing off stage to the side was getting concerned. "That was your cue Minmei." When she didn't started singing, he was getting mad. "Quit fooling around! Are you all right?"

She meekly looked over to Kyle, nodded her head and said weakly said "Yes." The orchestra stopped playing and the audience began mumbling among themselves, thinking that maybe this was part of a new act from Minmei. Then they started clapping and chanting "Minmei! Minmei! Minmei!"

"What's the problem? The audience loves you Minmei! Show them that you love them! Sing!" Kyle hissed.

Then Minmei sighed, looked out at the audience and with tears in her eyes yelled, "I'm sorry! I can't perform!"

The cheering from the crowd stopped as they sat in shock at what Minmei had just said..

"I won't sing! I can't perform when my heart is breaking!" Minmei then dropped the microphone and ran off stage.

The curtain suddenly dropped and the crowd who came to see Minmei sing, sat in stunned silence.

Four years later

Admirals Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes-Hunter were at home enjoying the end of the duty day. The building of the SDF-3 was on schedule, but it will still take several more years more for the construction to be completed. On top of that, the ship has to go through tests and trials. The puppy they found at the park, they decided to adopt and is now a full grown dog. They named the dog Chance because it was by chance that Rick, Lisa and the dog met. It's very protective of Rick and Lisa and wouldn't let anyone get near them. Although Chance let little Dana Sterling play with him and chase him around the yard of the Hunter's home whenever Max and Miriya come to visit and they bring little Dana along. As they were on the couch watching television, Rick laid his hand on Lisa's swollen pregnant belly.

"How are the twins doing today, sweetie?"

"They're doing well. Claudia and Roy have been kicking up quite a storm lately but they quieted down some today."

Rick laid his head on Lisa's pregnant stomach, putting his ear to her stomach as if wanting to hear what the babies are doing and gently rubbing Lisa's stomach and kissing it.

"Oh honey. I can't wait for the babies to be born. I just wish Claudia and Roy are alive to see this."

"I know Rick. I miss them everyday. But I know that a part of them will live on in our children."

On the television, the news program went off and was replaced by an entertainment news program.

"This is 'Inside Entertainment', your daily 30 minute news program. We take you on the inside covering New Hollywood and the entertainment world. Here are your hosts, Nancy Hart and Pat Bush."

"Hello and welcome to 'Inside Entertainment". I'm Nancy Hart."

"I'm Pat Bush, thanks for watching."

"This late breaking entertainment news story has just come across the wire and into I.E's newsroom. Lynn Minmei, the young singing and movie star, originally from Macross City has passed away earlier today. The voice that helped win a war and brought down an alien race with her singing was found dead today in a luxury hotel suite in New Atlanta. She was recently released from rehab for alcohol addiction and prescription drug abuse. While New Atlanta Police and the New Fulton County Coroner's Office refused to release details of Miss Minmei's death, rumors have surfaced that the cause of death is suicide from an overdose of prescription drugs for insomnia, depression and anxiety.

It was reported that while police did not find a suicide note, they did find open bottles of prescription drugs and empty bottles of various alcoholic beverages when they entered Miss Minmei's hotel suite when she didn't answer her phone for a wake up call. She was in New Atlanta for a concert. Although no details of a funeral or memorial service has been released, it has been reported that Lynn Kyle, Lynn Minmei's cousin and former manager had said that the funeral service and burial will be private and will be attended only by family members. The media and fans will be barred from the funeral service and burial. It's not known whether or not Miss Lynn Minmei has left a will.

We'll give you more details about this late breaking entertainment news story as we get it. Also, we'll tell you more about the life of Miss Lynn Minmei later in the show. But for now, here's Nancy with more details about Jan Morris' upcoming marriage to husband number six, English football star David Beck."

Stunned upon hearing the news about Minmei's death, Rick got up from the couch and walked out onto the deck of their home overlooking a lake in a rural area outside of Monument City, the new headquarters for the RDF. He went over to the railing, put both his hands on the railing and bowed his head. Not wanting to believe what he had just heard. Lisa because of her pregnant stomach, had difficulty getting up from the couch to follow Rick. She walked over to where Rick was standing, wrapped her arm around Rick's shoulder and comforted him. Chance concerned about his master, walked up and stood next to Rick's leg.

"Rick honey. It's not your fault. Something must have happened a long time ago to cause Minmei to lose control of her life this way."

"I know sweetheart. It's just that…I wonder what happened in Minmei's past to cause this to happen. I never told you this, but I might as well tell you, since it's a moot point now. Remember that autumn day of our picnic when we found Chance wandering around in the park?"

Lisa nodded her head.

"Minmei called me just before I was to meet you. She called saying that she wanted to meet me, although she didn't told me why. I had an idea of why she called and why she wanted to see me, but I didn't ask her. Anyway, I said no but I didn't tell her I was spending the day and the weekend with you. Instead, I told her to call the squadron's orderly room the next week so I can meet up with her then. She never called back. I wonder why?"


End file.
